The Gift
by YourLovelyMajesty
Summary: [ALTERNATE UNIVERSE] Based on a Tumblr prompt. Written somewhat tongue-in-cheek, Commander Shepard of C-Sec takes in Kolyat Krios for shoplifting, but Kolyat refuses to tell anyone what he was really doing. Thane Krios arrives to, hopefully, shed light on the situation.


The squeaking was getting to her. Shepard turned her attention to the paperwork on her desk to avoid looking at the boy seated across from her. Not that he was a boy in the technical sense; she wasn't good at eyeballing ages, especially in other species. According to his paperwork he was closer to his mid-twenties. It was all in the attitude, and his was particularly sour. It was a shame he was already sitting at C-Sec.

It happened like a scene out of one of her favorite action vids. She was walking by the Sirta Foundation outlet when the clerk cried out about a theft. Shepard chased him to the next floor where she tackled him-stupidly-into a fountain. It was a last ditch effort before she lost him the crowd; afterwards, she made a mental note that drell were damn quick.

Normally she would hand a case to an officer on duty but, day off or not, she had to know what compelled the kid to steal from a research foundation. When they searched him, they found a medgel container and a book in a different language. No one in C-Sec recognized the language and drell were hard to find in the system, especially this side of the galaxy, so Shepard stayed, curious about the little book.

"Mr. Krios, it's difficult to get any work done with your wet shoes scuffing my floor," Shepard said without looking up. "Could you please sit still?"

The squeaking stopped, but in the top of her vision, she saw his right leg begin to bounce in agitation.

"If you would tell me what you were doing stealing from a publicly funded biomed research group, your stay would be a lot shorter."

It just didn't make sense. Was he a spy? An information broker? She looked up to his bright arrogant eyes. No, he was too full of himself. Maybe a scared kid trying to make extra money on the black market. Shepard shook her head; she was putting too much thought into this. He was a punk, that was all.

"Still not talking to me?" she asked. She tried to keep her professional tone but they already spent thirty minutes in near silence. She'd start getting rough if he didn't talk soon.

"I have a right to a lawyer," he replied. His right leg continued to bounce, arms crossed tight across his chest. He definitely looked like someone with something to hide.

"And you used your call for one but we've been sitting here an awful long time." She picked up the book from her desk. "I just want to know what this is about. The Sirta clerk said it was a special order but the client information was false; even he couldn't tell me what's written here. I want to make sure this isn't dangerous information before I decide what to do with you."

The door of her office opened with a silent hiss and Officer Kursei stepped in, snapping a salute.

"Commander, there's a Mr. Krios here to see, uh, Mr. Krios."

Shepard glanced at the drell across from her. "Send him in. Let's hope the father is easier to work with than the son."

Kursei left. His spot inside the door was replaced by another drell in a finely cut suit. He lowered his head meekly. "I apologize for my lateness. Commander Shepard, I'm Thane Krios, Kolyat's father."

Shepard remained seated as he came further into the room. His skin was deep green and vibrant, his cheeks and neck a flushed red. She wondered what they felt like, especially under her lips. Realizing Mr. Krios had finished speaking, she jolted in her chair. _What's wrong with me?_

As he stood across the desk from her, she met his eyes and stood, extending her hand. His palm was warm and dry, holding on longer than was polite. Kolyat cleared his throat.

Shepard sat down and motioned Mr. Krios to the chair beside his son. He sat and crossed his left leg over his knee.

"First and foremost, I would like to apologize for any inconvenience my son caused you. I understand it's your day off."

"It was," she replied. She kept her eyes firmly trained on his; large, dark as the ocean's depths. "B-but C-Sec officials don't necessarily get to enjoy those days. We do whatever's needed to keep the peace. In this case, it's stopping a boy from starting down the wrong path."

"I'm not a boy," Kolyat hissed. He physically struggled not to slouch in the chair and it made Shepard smile.

"A young adult, then. I'm worried that you would risk your adult life for a small book." She turned her attention to Mr. Krios. "According to our files, this is Kolyat's first run in with C-Sec. Has there been any change in activity at home? Anything that might cause him to lash out?"

Mr. Krios tilted his head slightly to the left, thinking. His inner eyelid flickered before he blinked. "I don't believe so. We have a normal routine almost every day. Kolyat often told me he was going shopping-I hope this is not the first time you've stolen something."

"I didn't steal anything," Kolyat said. "I bought that book with my own credits. She doesn't believe me."

"The clerk said the information was false," Shepard pushed.

"Dad would have-" He stopped, glancing at his father before turning his attention the floor.

She hoped this wasn't about to turn into an abuse case. "Would have, what?"

"Kolyat, I'm worried for you. You've been disappearing every afternoon to 'shop' and now this. Please." Mr. Krios touched Kolyat's shoulder.

"Maybe you know something about this, Mr. Krios?" Shepard held out the book and Mr. Krios accepted it, their fingers brushing.

She watched as he flipped through the rough cut pages, his eyes seemingly following the words. His lips moved in silence. He closed the book after three heartbeats and turned to his son. "Where did you find this?"

Kolyat's arms drew tighter across his chest. He wouldn't meet either set of eyes. "I told you, I was shopping."

"Mr. Krios?" Shepard asked.

Mr. Krios sighed. "This is a rare volume of hanar writings, transcribed by Atana Shaes, the only drell in history that was beloved by the hanar to discover a soul name."

"I'm sorry, a 'soul' name?"

"Hanar have a second name, a true name, only known by those they trust. It is said no other species have such names, but there was something about Atana Shaes that she discovered her own soul name. Weeps With The Stars. She had entered the Compact with They Who Seek The Galaxy, a respected member of the Illuminated Primacy, and together they created an unofficial written hanar language. There is only one copy known to both drell and hanar."

The history lesson went over Shepard's head but she understood the magnitude of the situation. "So if there's only one, where did you find it, Kolyat?"

"I told you, I went shopping."

"Kolyat, please, this is important," Mr. Krios said.

The boy looked corner, almost pouting in his chair. "I . . . I didn't want you to find out before your birthday. There was someone on the extranet, I took an extra job to help pay for it, but the seller was kind of sketchy so I made a fake ID. I wasn't stealing anything. Fake ID chips are expensive and illegal so I grabbed the book and ran."

Shepard shook her head. All of this for a birthday present gone wrong.

"You bought this for me?" Mr. Krios asked. His hands stroked the cover with a gentle brush of his thumbs. "Kolyat, even though the circumstance is wrong and you were more than welcome to approach me for help, you have given me a wonderful gift."

Shepard cleared her throat. She didn't mean to spoil the mood but there was still business to attend to. "Actually, Mr. Krios, I'm going to have to do some research on this book. If it's the only copy known to the galaxy, I'm sure a historian somewhere is looking for it."

Hesitantly, Mr. Krios held out the book and Shepard accepted it back onto her desk. "I would like to believe it's a highly accurate forgery, but I understand. Thank you for letting me see it."

"We'll get a professional in here to view it in the next thirty days; if they can't turn up anything about it, it's yours."

Mr. Krios nodded. Kolyat unlaced his arms and sat up straight, his eyes hard. "I paid for that! I told you the real story and you're still going to keep it?"

Truthfully, Shepard didn't want to hold onto the book. Real or fake, she saw what it meant to Mr. Krios. He certainly knew enough about it. If his son had gone through so much trouble to buy it, it wasn't like Shepard to get in the middle. Still, protocol demanded results. And if someone was selling it on the extranet, it had to be a fake. Rare books didn't show up outside black market interaction.

"I'm sure Mr. Krios will get the book in the end," she said. "You did a real nice thing for your father, but I don't understand all the secrecy. Were you afraid I'd nail you for buying from the black market? For using a fake ID that you don't have?"

"You don't believe I bought it from the black market?"

"Of course not. C-Sec has their strange ways, and we have tabs on the Shadow Broker; if anyone had possession of such a rare book, it would be them. You're just trying to do something nice for your dad. Next time, though, may I suggest buying a box at the post office? It's anonymous when you want it to be."

Kolyat darkened with a blush and nodded. Mr. Krios smiled and stood. He didn't seem at all put out by the events; in fact, he looked like he found an even greater prize.

"Now that our business is finished, and it is still technically your day off, Commander, may I inquire about your plans for the rest of the day?"


End file.
